At Outrigger Resorts, Flowers Replace Fireworks on July 4
In a peaceful gesture, Outrigger Resorts on Kauaʻi, Maui and Hawaiʻi Island forgo traditional Fourth of July festivities out of respect for Native Hawaiians.
This reporter was hosted by Outrigger for the purposes of this review.
We saw the helicopter just past 9:30 a.m. As it positioned itself over Nukoliʻi Beach, I held up my hand to shade my eyes from the beaming sun. Slowly at first, then faster like a meteor shower, 6000 purple orchids rained down on us. One tapped me on the head. I turned around. Hundreds of people moved toward the helicopter in unison, like a wave. Kids squealed and pounced, filling their baskets with flowers as quickly as they could. More flowers, carried by the wind, fell on the lawn around our bare feet. Every last one was collected.
This year marked the second annual Flowerworks Festival at Outrigger Kauaʻi Beach Resort & Spa, Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa and Outrigger Kāʻanapali Beach Resort. The event is held July 4 in partnership with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, which flies over each resort that day dropping fresh orchids in lieu of a fireworks show. Guests waiting with baskets scramble to collect the flowers, then learn how to string them into a lei. The event strikes a balance between offering traditional Fourth of July festivities and a more Hawaiʻi-inspired celebration — one conceived out of respect for many Native Hawaiians for whom the holiday holds painful memories.
"I think [Fourth of July] is just not as celebrated," said Christine San Nicolas, general manager of Outrigger Kauaʻi Beach Resort & Spa. "In respect to Hawaiʻi as a nation, Hawaiʻi as a culture, I think it's important for all of the neighbor islands to recognize it, and I thought [Flowerworks] was a beautiful way to display that."
Every year on July 4, Americans gather to commemorate the independence of their country — a time of outdoor barbecues, fireworks shows and national pride. But how do you celebrate the independence of a nation on land that nation has taken from another? That is the question Hawaiʻi locals and visitors alike must ask themselves each year on this day.
On Oʻahu this year, a peaceful protest calling for the restoration of Hawaiian independence was held in Kailua. At ʻIolani Palace, hundreds gathered for Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, or Sovereignty Restoration Day — a free event featuring speakers, music and a historical reenactment of the proclamation of the Republic of Hawaiʻi. The proclamation was announced by pineapple “King” Sanford B. Dole on the steps of the palace on July 4, 1894, the year following the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. The date was chosen deliberately as the proclamation moved the islands closer to annexation, forever connecting Hawaiʻi to Independence Day.
On the neighbor islands, Blue Hawaiian Helicopters made its rounds — first to Kauaʻi, then Hawaiʻi Island, then Maui — showering flowers on locals and visitors gathered at Outrigger resorts. More festivities followed the flower drop. On Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi Island, guests were invited to string their flowers into a lei. Outrigger Kāʻanapali Beach Resort on Maui hosted local vendors offering food, face painting, balloon twisting, a magician, airbrush tattoos and lawn games.
"Actually, a lot of people are against fireworks," San Nicolas said. "When I was talking to the guests out there, one was coming from the Bay Area and the other from Arizona. They just said, 'we really love this.'" San Nicolas said guests loved bringing home a piece of the experience in the form of a lei — the first many had ever made themselves.
San Nicolas's team prepared 150 tī leaf lei for guests to string their flowers on — these promptly ran out. Families sat in circles on the lawn and inside the lobby learning the ancient Native Hawaiian cultural practice and art form. Kumu Maka Herrod, a respected cultural practitioner and kumu hula on Kauaʻi who leads a sunrise chanting ceremony on Nukoliʻi Beach for Outrigger guests, walked among the groups providing instruction and encouragement.
According to the resort, this year's Flowerworks — conceptualized by Megan Lee, director of sales and marketing for Outrigger Kāʻanapali Beach Resort — drew triple the attendance compared to last year and dropped double the amount of flowers. After running out of tī leaf lei, the resort is already planning ahead saying, "Next year we're going to be even better."